Mark

MARKS THE SPOT

Mark believed in Jesus. The Gospel of Mark
shows us Jesus incredible miracles. Mark
wrote this book for people who were not Jews.
These people were called Gentiles. He wanted
to teach them about the messages and mir-
acles of Jesus. He wanted to show them the Treasure
wonderful things J esus did while on earth.
He wanted people to believe in J esus, that he
Verses
was the Messiah, the Son of God, sent to save CHECK OFF EACH
ONE YOU FIND.
all of us, just as he did.
MARK 6:50They all saw
him and were terrified.
PEARLS of WISDOM Immediately he spoke
READ THESE IMPORTANT STORIES. to them and said, Take
courage! It is I. Dont be

Jesus heals a paralyzed man (Mark 2) afraid.

Jesus calms a storm (Mark 4) MARK 10:21Jesus looked
at him and loved him. One

Jesus brings a girl back to life (Mark 5)
thing you lack, he said.

Jesus walks on water (Mark 6) Go, sell everything you
have and give to the poor,

Jesus heals a young boy (Mark 9)
and you will have treasure

Jesus and the Last Supper (Mark 14) in heaven. Then come,
follow me.

Jesus dies and is buried (Mark 15)

Jesus is alive again (Mark 16)

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 Mark
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 The beg inn ing of the good news a bout
Jesus the Messia h, a the Son of God,b 2as
it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your wayc
3 a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.d
4And so John the Baptist app eared in the
wilder ness, preach i ng a bapt ism of repen
tance for the forg iveness of sins. 5The whole
Judea n count ryside and all the people of Je
rusalem went out to him. Confessing t heir
sins, they were bapt ized by him in the Jor
dan River. 6John wore clothi ng made of cam
els hair, with a leather belt a round his waist,
and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And this
was his message: After me comes the one
more powerful than I, the s traps of w hose
sandals I am not wort hy to s toop down and
unt ie. 8I bapt ize you withe water, but he will
bapt ize you withe the Holy Spirit.
The Baptism and Testing ofJesus
9At that time Jesus came from Naza reth
in Gali lee and was bapt ized by John in the
Jordan. 10Just as Jesus was comi ng up out of
the water, he saw heaven being torn open
and the Spirit descending on him like a
dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: You
are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well
pleased.
12At once the Spirit sent him out into the
wilder ness, 13and he was in the wilderness
fort y days, bei ng tempted f by Satan. He was
with the wild ani mals, and angels attended
him.
Jesus Announces the Good News
14After
John was put in prison, Jesus went
into Gali lee, proclaimi ng the good news of
a1OrJesus Christ. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) both mean Anointed One. b1Some
manuscripts do not have the Son of God. c2Mal. 3:1 d3Isaiah 40:3 e8Orinf13TheGreek
for tempted can also mean tested.
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God. 15The time has come, he said. The
kingdom of God has come near. Repent and
bel ieve the good news!
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
16As Jesus w alked bes ide the Sea of Gal
ilee, he saw Simon and his brother And rew
casti ng a net into the lake, for they were fish
ermen. 17Come, follow me, Jesus said, and
I will send you out to fish for people. 18At
once they left t heir nets and followed him.
19When he had gone a litt le fart her, he saw
James son of Zebedee and his brother John
in a boat, prepari ng t heir nets. 20Without de
lay he called them, and they left t heir fat her
Zebedee in the boat with the h ired men and
followed him.
Jesus Drives Out an ImpureSpirit
21They went to Ca pernau m, and when
the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the syn
agogue and began to teach. 22The people
were a mazed at his teaching, bec ause he
t aught them as one who had aut horit y, not
as the teachers of the law. 23Just then a man
in t heir synagogue who was possessed by an
impure spirit cried out, 24What do you want
with us, J esus of Naza reth? Have you come
to destroy us? I know who you aret he Holy
One of God!
25Be quiet! said J esus sternly. Come out
of him! 26The impure spirit shook the man
violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27The peo ple were all so a mazed that
they asked each other, What is this? A new
teach i ng and with aut hor it y! He even
g ives orders to impure spirits and they obey
him. 28News about him spread quickly over
the whole reg ion of Gali lee.
Jesus Heals Many
29As soon as they left the synagogue, they
went with James and John to the home of
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 945 Mark 1:30
Si mon and And rew. 30Si mons mother-in-
law was in bed with a fever, and they imme
diately told Jesus about her. 31So he went to
her, took her hand and h elped her up. The
fever left her and she began to wait on them.
32That eve n ing after sunset the people
brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-
possessed. 33The w hole town gathered at
the door, 34and Jesus healed many who had
various diseases. He also d rove out many de
mons, but he would not let the demons speak
because they knew who he was.
Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place
35Very earl y in the morni ng, w hile it was
s till dark, Jesus got up, left the house and
went off to a solitary p lace, where he prayed.
36Simon and his companions went to look
for him, 37and when they found him, they
exclaimed: Everyone is looki ng for you!
38Jesus re
plied, Let us go somewhere
else to the nearby villages so I can preach are forg iven, or to say, Get up, take your mat
there also. That is why I have come. 39So he
traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in
their synagogues and driving out demons.
Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy
40A man with lepros ya came to him and
begged him on his k nees, If you are willi ng,
you can make me clean.
41Jesus was ind ig n ant. b He reached out
his hand and touched the man. I am will
ing, he said. Be clean! 42Immed iately the With Sinners
lepros y left him and he was cleansed.
43Jesus sent him away at once with a
strong warni ng: 44See that you dont tell
this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the
priest and of fer the sacr i f ices that Moses
commanded for your cleansing, as a test i
mony to them. 45Instead he went out and
began to talk freely, spreadi ng the news. As
a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town
openly but stayed outside in lonely places.
Yet the people still came to him from every
where.
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed
Man
2 A few days later, when Jesus again en
tered Capernau m, the people heard that
he had come home. 2They gathered in such
a40 TheGreek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
b41 Many manuscripts Jesus was filled with compassion
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Mark 2:17 945
large numbers that t here was no room left,
not even outside the door, and he preached
the word to them. 3Some men came, bring
ing to him a para lyzed man, carr ied by four
of them. 4Since they could not get him to
Jesus bec ause of the c rowd, they made an
openi ng in the roof above Jesus by digg ing
t hrough it and then lowered the mat the man
was lyi ng on. 5When J esus saw t heir faith, he
said to the para lyzed man, Son, your sins
are forg iven.
6Now some teachers of the law were sit
ting t here, thinking to themselves, 7Why
does this fellow talk like that? Hes blas
pheming! Who can forg ive sins but God
alone?
8Im m ed ia tel y Jesus knew in his spir
it that this was what they were thinki ng in
t heir hearts, and he said to them, Why are
you think i ng t hese t hings? 9Which is easi
er: to say to this para lyzed man, Your sins
and walk? 10But I want you to know that the
Son of Man has aut horit y on e arth to forg ive
sins. So he said to the man, 11I tell you, get
up, take your mat and go home. 12He got up,
took his mat and w alked out in full view of
them all. This a mazed everyone and they
praised God, saying, We have never seen
anyt hing like this!
Jesus Calls Levi and Eats
13Once a gain Jesus went out beside the
lake. A large crowd came to him, and he be
gan to teach them. 14As he w alked a long, he
saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitt ing at the tax
col lectors booth. Fol low me, Jesus told
him, and Levi got up and followed him.
15While J esus was havi ng dinner at Lev is
house, many tax collectors and sinners were
eati ng with him and his disciples, for t here
were many who followed him. 16When the
teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw
him eati ng with the sinners and tax collec
tors, they asked his disciples: Why does he
eat with tax collectors and sinners?
17On heari ng this, Jesus said to them, It
is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the
sick. I have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners.
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 946 Mark 2:18
Jesus Questioned About Fasting
18Now Johns disciples and the Phar isees
were fasti ng. Some people came and asked
Jesus, How is it that J ohns disciples and the
disc iples of the Pharisees are fasting, but
yours are not?
19Jesus ans wered, How can the g uests of
the brideg room fast while he is with them?
They cannot, so long as they have him with
them. 20But the time will come when the
brideg room will be taken from them, and on
that day they will fast.
21No one sews a p atch of unshrunk cloth
on an old garment. Otherw ise, the new piece
will pull away from the old, maki ng the tear
worse. 22And no one pours new wine into old
wineskins. Otherw ise, the wine will burst
the skins, and both the wine and the wine
skins will be rui ned. No, they pour new wine
into new wineskins.
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
23One Sabbath Jesus was going t hrough
the grainf ields, and as his disciples walked
a long, they began to pick some h eads of
g rain. 24The Pharisees said to him, Look,
why are they doi ng what is unlawf ul on the
Sabbath?
25He ans wered, Have you never read
what Dav id did when he and his compan
ions were hung ry and in need? 26In the days
of Abiat har the high priest, he entered the
house of God and ate the consecrated bread,
which is lawf ul only for p
riests to eat. And he
also gave some to his companions.
27Then he said to them, The Sabbath was
made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28So
the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
3 Another time Jesus went into the syna
gogue, and a man with a shriveled hand
was t here. 2Some of them were looking for
a reason to acc use Jesus, so they w atched
him closely to see if he would heal him on
the Sabbath. 3Jesus said to the man with the
shriveled hand, Stand up in f ront of every
one.
4Then Jesus a sked them, Which is lawf ul
on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to
save life or to kill? But they remained silent.
5He looked a round at them in anger and,
a14 Some manuscripts twelvedesignating them apostles b21Orhis associates
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Mark 3:23 946
deeply dist ressed at t heir stubborn hearts,
said to the man, Stretch out your hand. He
stretched it out, and his hand was complete
ly restored. 6Then the Pharisees went out
and began to plot with the Herod ia ns how
they m ight kill Jesus.
Crowds Follow Jesus
7Jesus withd rew with his disciples to the
lake, and a large c rowd from Galilee fol
lowed. 8When they heard about all he was
doing, many people came to him from Ju
dea, Jer us a lem, Idu mea, and the reg ions
across the Jordan and a round Tyre and Si
don. 9Because of the crowd he told his dis
ciples to have a small boat ready for him, to
keep the people from crowding him. 10For
he had healed many, so that t hose with dis
eases were pushing forw ard to touch him.
11Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they
fell down before him and cried out, You are
the Son of God. 12But he gave them strict or
ders not to tell others about him.
Jesus Appoints the Twelve
13Jesus
went up on a mountainside and
c alled to him those he wanted, and they
came to him. 14He appointed t welve a that
they m ight be with him and that he m ight
send them out to p reach 15and to have au
thorit y to d rive out demons. 16These are the
twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he
gave the name Peter), 17James son of Zebe
dee and his brother John (to them he gave
the name Boa nerges, which means sons of
thunder), 18And rew, Phil ip, Bar t holomew,
Mat t hew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeu s, Si mon the Zealot 19and Judas
Iscariot, who bet rayed him.
Jesus Accused by His Family and
byTeachers ofthe Law
20Then Jesus entered a house, and again a
crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples
were not even able to eat. 21When his fami ly b
heard about this, they went to take c harge of
him, for they said, He is out of his mind.
22And the teachers of the law who came
down from Jer usalem said, He is possessed
by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is
drivi ng out demons.
23So Jesus c alled them over to him and
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 947 Mark 3:24
began to speak to them in parables: How
can Satan d rive out Satan? 24If a kingdom
is div ided a gainst itself, that kingdom can
not stand. 25If a house is div ided against
it self, that house can not stand. 26And if Sa
tan opposes himself and is div ided, he can
not stand; his end has come. 27In fact, no
one can enter a strong mans house without
f irst tyi ng him up. Then he can plunder the
strong mans house. 28Truly I tell you, people
can be forg iven all t heir sins and every slan
der they utter, 29but whoe ver blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit will never be forg iven;
they are g uilty of an eternal sin.
30He said this bec ause they were sayi ng,
He has an impure spirit.
31Then Jesus mother and brothers ar
rived. Standi ng outside, they sent someone
in to call him. 32A crowd was sitt ing a round
him, and they told him, Your mother and
brothers are outside looki ng for you.
33Who are my mother and my brothers?
he asked.
34Then he l ooked at t hose seated in a circle
a round him and said, Here are my mother
and my brothers! 35Whoever does Gods will
is my brother and sister and mother.
The Parable of the Sower
4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake.
The c rowd that gathered a round him
was so large that he got into a boat and sat
in it out on the lake, w hile all the people
were a long the shore at the waters edge. 2He
t aught them many t hings by parables, and
in his teachi ng said: 3Listen! A farmer went
out to sow his seed. 4As he was scatteri ng the
seed, some fell a long the path, and the birds
came and ate it up. 5Some fell on r ocky plac
es, w
here it did not have much soil. It s prang
up quickly, bec ause the soil was shallow.
6But when the sun came up, the plants were
scorched, and they withered bec ause they
had no root. 7Other seed fell a mong t horns,
w hich grew up and choked the plants, so
that they did not bear g rain. 8Still other seed
fell on good soil. It came up, grew and pro
duced a crop, some mult iplyi ng thirt y, some
sixt y, some a hund red times.
9Then Jesus said, Whoe ver has ears to
hear, let them hear.
10When he was a lone, the Twelve and
a12Isaiah 6:9,10
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Mark 4:27 947
the others a round him asked him about the
parables. 11He told them, The secret of the
kingdom of God has been given to you. But
to t hose on the outside everyt hing is said in
parables 12so that,
they may be ever seeing but never
perceiving,
and ever hearing but never
understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be
forgiven!a
13Then J esus said to them, Dont you un
derstand this parable? How then will you
understand any parable? 14The farmer sows
the word. 15Some people are like seed a long
the path, w here the word is sown. As soon
as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away
the word that was sown in them. 16Others,
like seed sown on rocky places, hear the
word and at once receive it with joy. 17But
since they have no root, they last only a short
time. When trouble or persec ut ion comes
because of the word, they quickly fall away.
18Still others, like seed sown a mong t horns,
hear the word; 19but the worr ies of this life,
the deceitf ulness of wealth and the desires
for other t hings come in and choke the word,
mak i ng it un f ruit f ul. 20Others, like seed
sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it,
and produce a cropsome thirt y, some six
ty, some a hund red t imes what was sown.
A Lamp on a Stand
21He said to them, Do you bring in a lamp
to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, dont
you put it on its stand? 22For whatever is hid
den is meant to be disclosed, and whatever
is concealed is meant to be b rought out into
the open. 23If anyone has ears to hear, let
them hear.
24Consider caref ull y what you hear, he
continued. With the measure you use, it
will be measured to youa nd even more.
25Whoever has will be given more; whoever
does not have, even what they have will be
taken from them.
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26He also said, This is what the kingdom
of God is like. A man scatters seed on the
g round. 27Night and day, whether he s leeps
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 948 Mark 4:28
or gets up, the seed sprouts and g rows,
t hough he does not know how. 28All by itself
the soil produces g rain f irst the stalk, then enough to subdue him. 5Night and day
the head, then the full kernel in the head.
29As soon as the g rain is ripe, he puts the
sickle to it, because the harvest has come.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30Again he said, What shall we say the
kingdom of God is like, or what parable s hall
we use to describe it? 31It is like a must ard
seed, w hich is the smallest of all seeds on
earth. 32Yet when planted, it g rows and be
comes the largest of all garden plants, with
such big branches that the birds can p erch
in its shade.
33With many simi lar parables Jesus spoke
the word to them, as much as they c ould un
derstand. 34He did not say anyt hing to them
without using a parable. But when he was
a lone with his own disciples, he explained
every t hing.
Jesus Calms the Storm
35That day when even ing came, he said
to his disc iples, Let us go over to the oth
er side. 36Leaving the c rowd beh ind, they
took him a long, just as he was, in the boat.
T here were also other b oats with him. 37A
fur ious squall came up, and the waves b roke
over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
38Jesus was in the s tern, sleepi ng on a cush
ion. The disciples woke him and said to him,
Teacher, dont you care if we drown?
39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to
the waves, Quiet! Be still! Then the wind
died down and it was completely calm.
40He said to his disc iples, Why are you so
a fraid? Do you s till have no faith?
41They were ter r ified and a sked each
other, Who is this? Even the wind and the
waves obey him!
Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed
Man
5 They went a cross the lake to the reg ion
of the Geras enes. a 2When Jesus got
out of the boat, a man with an impure spir
it came from the t ombs to meet him. 3This
man lived in the tombs, and no one could
bind him anymore, not even with a chain.
4For he had often been c hained hand and
a1 Some manuscripts Gadarenes; other manuscripts Gergesenes b20 That is, the Ten Cities
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Mark 5:21 948
foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke
the irons on his feet. No one was strong
a mong the tombs and in the h ills he would
cry out and cut himself with stones.
6When he saw J esus from a dist ance, he
ran and fell on his k nees in front of him.
7He shoute d at the top of his v oice, What
do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most
High God? In G ods name d ont tort ure me!
8For Jesus had said to him, Come out of this
man, you impure spirit!
9Then Jesus a sked him, What is your
name?
My name is Leg ion, he replied, for we
are many. 10And he b egged J esus a gain and
again not to send them out of the area.
11A large herd of pigs was feedi ng on the
nearby hillside. 12The demons begged Jesus,
Send us a mong the pigs; allow us to go into
them. 13He gave them perm ission, and the
impure spirits came out and went into the
pigs. The herd, a bout two thousand in num
ber, r ushed down the s teep bank into the
lake and were drowned.
14Those tending the pigs ran off and re
ported this in the town and countryside,
and the people went out to see what had hap
pened. 15When they came to J esus, they saw
the man who had been possessed by the le
gion of demons, sitt ing t here, d ressed and in
his r ight mind; and they were a fraid. 16Those
who had seen it told the people what had
happened to the demon-possessed man
and told about the pigs as well. 17Then the
people began to p lead with Jesus to leave
t heir reg ion.
18As Jesus was getting into the boat,
the man who had been demon-possessed
begged to go with him. 19Jesus did not let
him, but said, Go home to your own people
and tell them how much the Lord has done
for you, and how he has had merc y on you.
20So the man went away and began to tell in
the Decapol is b how much Jesus had done for
him. And all the people were amazed.
Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals
a Sick Woman
21When Jesus had a gain c rossed over
by boat to the other side of the lake, a large
crowd gathered a round him while he was by
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 949 Mark 5:22
the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue lead
ers, n amed Jai r us, came, and when he saw
Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23He pleaded ear
nestly with him, My litt le daughter is dyi ng.
Please come and put your hands on her so
that she will be healed and live. 24So Jesus
went with him.
A large crowd fol lowed and pressed
a round him. 25And a woma n was t here who
had been subject to bleeding for twelve
years. 26She had suffered a g reat deal un
der the care of many doctors and had spent
all she had, yet instead of gett ing better she
grew worse. 27When she heard about J esus,
she came up beh ind him in the crowd and
touched his cloak, 28bec ause she t hought,
If I just t ouch his c lothes, I will be healed.
29Immed iately her bleedi ng stopped and she
felt in her body that she was f reed from her
suf feri ng.
30At once J esus rea lized that power had
gone out from him. He turned a round in
the c rowd and a sked, Who touched my
clothes?
31You see the people crowding a gainst
you, his disc iples ans wered, and yet you
can ask, Who t ouchedme?
32But Jesus kept looking a round to see
who had done it. 33Then the woma n, know
ing what had happened to her, came and fell
at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him
the whole t ruth. 34He said to her, Daughter,
your faith has healed you. Go in peace and
be f reed from your sufferi ng.
35While Jesus was still speaking, some peo
ple came from the house of Jair us, the syna
gogue leader. Your daughter is dead, they
said. Why bother the teacher anymore?
36Overheari ng a what they said, Jesus told
him, Dont be a fraid; just bel ieve.
37He did not let anyone follow him except
Peter, James and John the brother of James.
38When they came to the home of the syna
gogue leader, Jesus saw a commot ion, with
people cryi ng and waili ng loudly. 39He went
in and said to them, Why all this commo
tion and waili ng? The child is not dead but
asleep. 40But they l aughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the
childs fat her and mother and the disciples
who were with him, and went in w here the
child was. 41He took her by the hand and said
a36OrIgnoring b3Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph c14
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Mark 6:14 949
to her, Talitha koum! (which means Litt le
girl, I say to you, get up!). 42Immed iately the
girl stood up and began to walk a round (she
was t welve years old). At this they were com
pletely aston ished. 43He gave strict orders
not to let anyone know about this, and told
them to give her somet hing to eat.
A Prophet Without Honor
6 Jesus left t here and went to his home
town, acc ompa n ied by his disc iples.
2When the Sabbath came, he began to t each
in the synagogue, and many who h eard him
were amazed.
Where did this man get t hese t hings?
they a sked. Whats this wisdom that has
been given him? What are these rem ark
able miracles he is per form i ng? 3Isnt this
the carpenter? Isnt this Marys son and the
brother of James, Joseph, b Judas and Simon?
A rent his sisters here with us? And they
took offense at him.
4Jesus said to them, A proph et is not
without honor exc ept in his own town,
a mong his relat ives and in his own home.
5He could not do any miracles t here, except
lay his h ands on a few sick people and heal
them. 6He was a mazed at t heir lack of faith.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
Then Jesus went a round teaching from
village to village. 7Calli ng the T
welve to him,
he began to send them out two by two and
gave them aut horit y over impure spirits.
8These were his instruct ions: Take noth
ing for the journey except a staffno bread,
no bag, no money in your belts. 9Wear san
dals but not an ext ra shirt. 10Whenever you
enter a house, stay t here unt il you l eave that
town. 11And if any p lace will not welcome
you or listen to you, leave that place and
shake the dust off your feet as a test imony
against them.
12They went out and p reached that people
should repent. 13They d rove out many de
mons and anointed many sick people with
oil and h ealed them.
John the Baptist Beheaded
14King Herod h
eard a bout this, for J esus
name had become well k nown. Some were
say i ng, c John the Bapt ist has been r aised
Some early manuscripts He was saying
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